


the more you’ve rampaged, the more you’ll understand kindness

by terrierlee



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Power Rangers Fusion, F/M, Gen, M/M, Super Sentai AU, like holy crap the amount of references I put in this is AMAZING, vicchan still dies in this I'm sorry not sorry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-23
Updated: 2017-07-23
Packaged: 2018-12-05 18:58:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,998
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11584158
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/terrierlee/pseuds/terrierlee
Summary: Celestino clapped a hand on his back, jolting Yuuri out of his thoughts, “Yuuri! There you are! I have someone you definitely should meet!”“Please no,” Yuuri bit back a groan. The last thing he wanted was to meet a sponsor, who definitely would not be interested in a six place loser at the Grand Prix Final. “Can we do this another time?”“Tch.”There was a cough, and Yuuri glanced up from his glass.Oh God.Standing before him was none other than Yuri Plisetsky. The same one who almost assaulted him in the bathroom. Suddenly he was overcome with dread. No. No no no.“Yuuri,” Celestino made sure his voice didn’t carry, which was always a bad sign when he didn’t want to be overheard, “I’d like you to meet the newest member of the team. Yuri Plisetsky, Black Skater.”A Power Rangers/Super Sentai AU





	the more you’ve rampaged, the more you’ll understand kindness

**Author's Note:**

> Okay so hi!!! First time writing for Yuri on Ice, even though I have read a good amount of fic here. I've only seen one Power Rangers AU and it was based off the reboot movie so I thought 'yo I'm a huge fan of power rangers and super sentai WHY ISN'T THIS A BIGGER THING' and thus this fic was born.
> 
> The title for this comes from Bakuryu Sentai Abaranger's opening theme song.

1.

This was not the way things were supposed to go. Yuuri made it to the Grand Prix Final. He actually did okay in the short program. He was skating on the same ice as his idol.

And then his dog died. He was in another country and his dog died. He hadn’t seen Vicchan in five years and now he was gone.

So of course, he bombed the free skate. He did so poorly that he ended up in last place. He wasn’t fit for the ice skating world. He couldn’t even handle the death of his pet dog, who he hadn’t even seen in five years.

And to make matters even worse, his idol didn’t even know who he was. Thought he was just a simple fan who wanted nothing more than a commemorative photo. And then later that Russian punk Yuri Plisetsky yelled at him in a bathroom. How much more pathetic could he be???

As if he, Katsuki Yuuri, could possibly be good enough to be on the ice. As if he was good enough to be anything.

Celestino insisted he make an appearance at the banquet. Which, really, is a bad idea. But his coach mentioned to Yuuri and Chris that the newest member of their ranger team was going to be there and they should meet him. Someone who was growing in the ranks but showed promise in terms of being a ranger. In saving the world. Based on the most recent skaters moving up in the world, Yuuri could think of one in particular due to the man being called a dark horse. Dark horse, black ranger? It made sense, okay?

Whoever it was, they would be the newly presented Black Skater, fighting along with the rest of the Skate Rangers. Someone thought it was a great idea to take professional ice skaters and have them save the world from evil. When Yuuri was contacted, five years ago, he was against it. How would Katsuki Yuuri save the world? All he wanted to do was skate, and do to so on the same ice as his idol.

Phichit was the one who ultimately got him to wrap his head around the idea. And to make matters better or worse, they offered a spot on the team to Phichit himself. And so, Blue and Yellow Skater were born.

They only had three rangers so far, and still no Red to call a leader, though everyone insisted that Yuuri, as the resident Blue Ranger, was the de facto leader.

They did well, thwarting the evil plans of their villains while still training full time at the ice rink. Teleportation definitely helped in the long run to get to different places of the world, yet at the same time not because they were forbidden to use it to get to competitions.

But still, now they would be a team of four and still no Red? Alright, sure, he had heard stories where the Red Ranger wasn’t found until most of the team was put together, or when even half the team was assembled. Yuuri really did hope they found one soon. Without Red, they couldn’t combine their zords together.

He frowned into his champagne glass. A lot rode on the Red’s shoulders. He quietly hoped whoever Red is, they could handle it. Just by being Blue, he knew how difficult being in command could be.

Celestino clapped a hand on his back, jolting Yuuri out of his thoughts, “Yuuri! There you are! I have someone you definitely should meet!”

“Please no,” Yuuri bit back a groan. The last thing he wanted was to meet a sponsor, who definitely would not be interested in a six place loser at the Grand Prix Final. “Can we do this another time?”

“Tch.”

There was a cough, and Yuuri glanced up from his glass.

Oh God.

Standing before him was none other than Yuri Plisetsky. The same one who almost assaulted him in the bathroom. Suddenly he was overcome with dread. No. No no no.

“Yuuri,” Celestino made sure his voice didn’t carry, which was always a bad sign when he didn’t want to be overheard, “I’d like you to meet the newest member of the team. Yuri Plisetsky, Black Skater.”

* * *

If anyone could understand why Yuuri used the forbidden teleportation to whisk himself away to Hasetsu, it would definitely be Phichit.

Phichit, who was always there to bail Yuuri out whenever he was stuck mid-fight, the perfect stretching partner, self-titled selfie king, unofficial ruler of hamsters.

“Don’t worry about Ciao Ciao, Yuuri! Chris and I will handle him for you!”

Three months. That’s how long Yuuri stayed in Hasetsu.

It would be a lie if he didn’t feel guilty about it, which he did. But being around the other rangers, being around other skaters, being around Victor, was too much for Yuuri. Yuuko, at least, let him use Ice Castle Hasetsu whenever he became anxious. Minako let him use her ballet studio.

It was nice, seeing his family and friends after not being home for five years.

Only Vicchan wasn’t there.

Those were the nights he lay in bed until the early morning, eyes wet with tears, sobs of “I’m sorry Vicchan” into his pillow.

Sometimes, he would hear news of the Skate Rangers, and about the new ranger.

When the news anchor began to theorize just what happened to Blue Skater he would quickly change the channel.

He knew he abandoned his team. He was aware of this. Yes he hated himself for it.

But Chris and Phichit would be fine without him there. They weren’t incompetent.

He did miss them though…

* * *

2.

It was an evening in April, Yuuri was running along the beach, his nerves at an all-time high again due to the latest news report.

Victor Nikiforov had retired.

Retired.

It was impossible.

Alright, maybe not entirely impossible. The man was only 27 years old but surely he was still able to perform on the ice for a few more years! He had just medaled at the World Championships at Yoyogi. And he didn’t seem to be injured…

Yuuri let himself slow to a stop as he leaned forward, hands on his knees as he took deep breaths.

Victor Nikiforov couldn’t have retired.

He wiped the sweat from his brow, taking his phone out to check the time. It wasn’t too late, perhaps Minako would let him borrow the studio for an hour or two, just to get his mind off Victor’s retirement.

Yes, that was a plan.

He was about to pocket his phone when the device began to jingle in his hand.

Oh, Phichit.

“Yuuri!!! Did you see the news!”

He let himself laugh, a bit hysterical but he could easily blame it on his run, “I did, yeah.”

“Are you okay?”

“I’m… yeah.”

There was a hum over the line. “You know, Yuuri, it really hasn’t been the same without you, new Yuri just doesn’t compare to you out on the field.”

Yuuri let out a breath, moving his legs in the direction of home, “Really? The news seems to think otherwise.”

“Oh pfft, Yuuri. The kid’s fashion sense is crazy! Did you know he insisted we get a cheetah print couch for the base? It’s hideous! And he won’t let anyone else sit on it! Claims it’s his and ‘he’ll fucking kill whoever sits their ass on it!’ The kid has some mouth on him.” There was a pause, “Yuuri, it’s so great to rile him up, you’d be a natural at it.”

“You’re just trying to get me back.”

“Well, Yuuri ol’ friend ol’ pal, I do, in fact, miss you, and so does Chris. …Also, we may have recruited two more Rangers since you’ve been gone.”

Yuuri froze. Two new rangers? Was this because Yuuri left for three months without saying anything? Was this meant to tell Yuuri that he was no longer needed and everyone really was fine on their own? Was one of them Red? It had to be. And if there was now a Red Ranger then he really didn’t have a place on the team anymore. He would just be in the way. This was Yuuri’s fault for leaving and now he had to settle with the consequences.

“Hey, Yuuri. Yuuri! Come back to me!”

Yuuri gripped a hand to his chest, not realizing how heavy he was breathing.

“Listen to me, Yuuri Katsuki.” Phichit’s voice was firm, leaving no room for argument. “We did not replace you. We just found more people to add to our team. They can help us.”

“I—I know, Phichit—“

“We found Red and Gold. Both, well okay one, one of them really, were excited to meet you and Ciao Ciao needs you back. We just aren’t the Skate Rangers without you.”

“I…”

“Think on it,” Phichit’s voice came in low murmurs, as if to try and be soothing, “think about it and let us know what you decide. But Yuuri,” his voice gained a bit of a mischievous tone to it, “you will not believe what happened while you were gone. I’m not allowed to say anything since it hasn’t been formally announced and technically our cellphones could be intercepted so I can’t tell you over the phone but if you were here you’d know and boy, it’s a kicker.”

Yuuri continued his pace, a smile slowly growing on his face, “Oh really? Well now I’m curious.”

* * *

Yuuri was having a nightmare.

That was the only way he could describe the situation he found himself in as he returned to the base.

No, it wasn’t the horrendous cheetah print couch tucked in the corner.

Nor was it the banner and balloons and streamers hung up around the room.

It wasn’t even the nice little cake with his masked self on it.

He could only call this a nightmare because as soon as he walked into the rangers’ base, he saw Victor Nikiforov sitting on the tacky cheetah print couch with a gold party hat on his head.

At the sound of the doors opening, Victor turned his attention away from Yuri who sat beside him. Yuuri watched as the biggest heart shaped smile grew on the older man’s face.

“Yuuri! You’re here!”

From next to him, Yuri crossed his arms, a sneer on his face, “Finally decided to show your ugly face, huh?”

“Now now, we’re all friends here and this is a party.” Chris moved around the table to drape an arm over Yuuri’s shoulders, “Yuuri, it’s so good to see you again! How was home? The folks alright?”

“They’re…” Yuuri dropped his eyes to the floor, “They’re fine. They were happy to see me again. Um…” He took a chance to glance up again, and found… Victor pouting? He quickly looked away. No way, Victor doesn’t pout. He… he just doesn’t.

Phichit materialized at his other side, wrapping his own arm around Yuuri’s waist. “Oh Yuuri we’re so glad you’re back! Chris and I picked out the cake and everything!”

They maneuvered around the table, both veteran rangers refusing to leave Yuuri’s side. Which would be fine except Yuuri really couldn’t deal with the fact that Victor Nikiforov was in the same room as him, again, and had a little party hat on his head, how adorable, and oh Celestino just walked in with someone behind him.

“It’s JJ Style!!!”

Oh God.

* * *

4.

“When do I get my robot.”

A sigh, “Like I told you before, the same time as the rest of us. They’re being built just in case we need them.”

“They better fucking hurry up.”

Yuuri bit his lower lip in order to stop another sigh to escape him. More than likely as soon as the zords were closed to being completed, a giant monster would appear somewhere and cause havoc. It was better if they didn’t have to resort to such measures. Even better that they were being built. He didn’t want to think about if they were sentient. He shook his head, Yuuri had enough trouble keeping the voices in his head quiet, and he didn’t need some robot to add to the craziness.

They stopped in front of the training room. Today’s agenda was about hand-to-hand combat. Celestino insisted that Yuuri take Yuri under his wing, much to their dismay.

“I’m not training under fucking Katsudon! You’re crazy!”

“I don’t think… There’s someone else who could…”

But Celestino wouldn’t hear of it. “Yuuri, you’re the best one in the field, there’s no one I would trust more out there.”

They took their spots on the mats, Yuuri taking his time to stretch while Yuri continued to glower. Yuuri looked up from his position on the floor, “You really should stretch, I’m not gonna go easy on you.”

Yuri’s face shown bright red and he glared in the other man’s direction before beginning his own stretches.

With a small smile, Yuuri focused his attention to the tautness of his muscles, releasing his foot to start on the opposite. Once he was done, he stood, shaking out his limbs and then turning back to the leopard printed youth, “Ready?”

“Yeah, yeah,” Yuri took to his feet, not even waiting before taking a stance, “Show me what you’ve got, loser.”

Yuuri let himself smirk, moving into his own stance and then waited.

It was easy to predict Yuri’s moves. He shot forward, trying to get a hit in first but Yuuri dodged it easily. He let the younger boy try this again and again until it was clear he was getting tired. Yuuri took this chance to strike, moving around, catching Yuri’s leg with his own and sending him to the ground.

Yuri let out a growl, beating a hand against the soft mats, “No fair, you cheated!”

Yuuri chuckled as he released the younger boy, “No, you’re just easy to read.”

They were jolted out of their own little world with the sound of clapping. They both turned towards the noise, Yuri letting out a groan as he sat up while Yuuri felt all the blood drain from his face.

“That was amazing, Yuuri!”

Victor Nikiforov walked into the training room, dressed in their usual training gear, only his was blindingly gold.

Victor Nikiforov. Gold Skater. Joined Skate Rangers shortly after retiring from the ice skating world.

This wasn’t real.

Yuuri more felt than saw Yuri get to his feet and grumble as he made his way out of the training room, “I don’t have time to be around you two losers, go be gross elsewhere.”

It was at if all his other senses had heightened in that short amount of time. Yuuri caught a whiff of expensive cologne, his heartbeat drummed against his eardrums, practically drowning out the sound of footsteps that got closer and closer to where Yuuri remained on the floor.

Suddenly a hand was in front of his face, long slender fingers that were attached to an equally tall figure by the name of Victor Nikiforov.

Yuuri swallowed around a lump in his throat, but still he reached up, taking the other man’s hand in his own and letting the older man help him to his feet.

They were close. Super close. Like chest to chest close.

The lump in Yuuri’s throat seemed to swell as he looked up into Victor’s blue eyes. They were the most beautiful eyes he’d ever seen.

“Yuuri.”

At the sound of his name, he snapped back, yanking his hand away and turning to look at the door. “Uh, um, sorry. You must be here to train, right? Um,” he took a step back, rubbing one of his wrists, “I’ll tell Chris you’re waiting for him.” He bolted to the exit, not registering the shout of his name as he ran down the hall.

* * *

6.

When he was right, he was right.

No sooner were the zords almost complete did two giant monsters in the form of a chair and table attack the local city.

They tried to blast one with their cannon but the beam only bounced away with no effect. Celestino’s voice came in through the speakers in their helmets, relief evident in their postures as he announced their zords were ready and fully functional.

But whoever the hell designed them should be fired.

Yuuri jumped, somehow managed to enter into the cockpit of his Blue Dragon Zord. Through his helmet’s speakers, he heard the reactions to his fellow teammates, though some were not entirely pleased.

“Why the fuck do I have a dump truck? Whose lame idea was this?”

“Aw come on, Black,” Chris’ voice was clear in his ear, “it’s not bad! You could have Red’s!”

“Excuse you! The beaver is a mighty creature and I am proud to have one as my zord!”

Yuuri shook his head as he surveyed the scene before him, “Focus, guys.”

“But Blue!” Phichit chirped, “How cool is mine? I have a bus! I can carry everyone everywhere! Think of the adventures!”

The speakers in his helmet crackled to live again, only the voice that came through wasn’t one he expected.

“Awww, all your zords look like fun! Why isn’t mine ready yet?” Victor’s pout was evident in his tone and Yuuri could feel his face burn even inside his helmet.

“Erm, we weren’t expecting a Gold Ranger at the same time as the Red Ranger, and he took more priority. We went over this.”

“But Yuuri…” The whine only made his blush worse, “I want to be out there with you too! I can help!”

Yuuri let himself cough, “Blue. Remember, when we’re morphed we go by color, Gold.” He shook his head, trying to focus on the fight. Phichit and Chris were fighting the table monster, seriously who came up with these ideas? What next, a monster made from straws??? A purse??? A crocodile with a telephone on its head??? They needed better ideas.

Chris drove his zord up against a building, letting Phichit use him as a ramp and steamroll the table monster in the face.

He couldn’t stop himself, “Byun byun you piece of crap.”

“Blue? What was that?”

“Nothing!”

* * *

10.

Yuuri was going to die a sweet and delicious death.

To be fair, this totally wasn’t his fault. It wasn’t. No way.

It was a normal mission. Or, well, as normal as one could be. There had been rumors of a traveling salesman promising dreams coming true. So of course it sounded fake.

Celestino demanded they get on the case, and it lead them to an abandoned warehouse.

It was always an abandoned warehouse.

The man was decked out in a tailored suit, a fedora propped on the edge of his head, and a suitcase in his right hand. “Aw, I see you’re interested in my product…”

He slid across the floor, closing the distance between him and the Rangers.

“Now tell me,” he slipped a hand under Yuuri’s cheek, rubbing a thumb across his cheek, “What is it you most desire?” Yuuri didn’t have a chance to retort before he switched direction and caressed a hand over JJ’s shoulder, “Money? Fame? Women?” He glanced in the direction of Chris, “Men?” And then to Yuri, “I can give you that and more.” He finally settled on Phichit, “Just one little thought, think it, and I can make it come true.”

It was a trap, these things were always a trap.

And there would always be one who went along with it.

Yuuri never thought it would be him.

“Oh for fuck’s sake! Katsudon! Really???”

“I’m sorry.”

“When I get out of here I will kick your ass, you hear me!”

“Now now, this could have happened to any of u—“

“You shut your mouth! I’ll fucking kill you all before I die from being cooked in katsudon!”

“It could be worse,” Yuuri grumbled from where he was nestled in between a peace of pork and rice.

“Oh yeah! And what’s that!”

Yuuri gave a false grin, “You could be cooked into a piroshki. Or even better, you could be destroyed by artificial flavoring.”

If glares should burn holes in a hall, Yuuri would be dead. “I fucking hate you.”

It wasn’t all entirely bad, being baked into a bowl of katsudon, it could definitely be worse. Victor could have been sent on this mission with them. But his zord was close to completion and he insisted he be there when it was done. So yeah, Victor wasn’t there to see how much of a loser Yuuri was. He just had to think about his mom’s katsudon at that moment. And now they were suffering because of it.

He glanced around the building, trying to see if there was some way to get out of this sticky situation, when something came crashing into the connecting wall.

The mysterious salesman whipped around at the intrusion, his eyes ablaze. “Who dares interrupt me?!”

As the dust cleared, Yuuri felt the bottom of his stomach fall. Oh no.

Gold Skater appeared amongst the debris, the low hanging lights reflecting off his suit.

Yuuri heard a district groan coming from Yuri’s direction but chose to ignore it. Phichit waved from his section of the bowl, “Hey Gold! Nice timing! Think you can give us a hand?”

“Of cour—“ Victor froze mid-sentence, taking in the scene in front of him. Even though he was clearly wearing his helmet, Yuuri would imagine the shocked expression on his face. ”Y-yeah, just hold on!” He focused his attention back on the salesman, who only grinned in response.

“I can make all your dreams come true, just let give me one thought.”

“Don’t listen to him, Gold!”

The salesman hissed, before re-enforcing his grin, “There must be something… someone… you want…”

Victor hesitated for only a moment, and then shook his head, his posture holding firm, “The only thing I want is for you to release my friends!” With that shout, he run forward, his sword held high, knocking the man back.

Phichit cheered as Yuri somehow managed to cross his arms. Chris assessed the situation and then turned to Yuuri, “Okay, while the crazy man is distracted, how do we get out of here.”

Yuuri bit his bottom lip, he really wasn’t sure. If the bowl of katsudon was an illusion, defeating the monster would solve their problem, but it certainly felt corporal. And if that was the case… they would need actual help getting out.

Victor paused in his fight, his head turned in the direction of the others, and then he glanced up, giving a sharp whistle to the sky.

The monster, who now revealed himself to be some sort of chef, winced at the noise. The next second, something rumbled nearby, causing the floor to quake and the bowl of katsudon almost threatened to turn over.

“Hey watch it! We’re still in here, you moron!”

But the shout was lost as a piece of the ceiling caved in, revealing a robot poodle panting heavily.

Holy shit Victor’s zord was a giant fucking poodle. No wonder he didn’t let anyone know.

“Are you shitting me right now? He gets a poodle and I only get a fucking dump truck? Give me my damn tiger zord!”

“I don’t think now’s the right moment for that…”

“No one asked you, loser king.”

“Watch out!”

Yuuri ducked as the poodle zord drew near, its tongue hanging out of its mouth and he shuddered as the metal tongue lapped up at the dish. Before they knew it though, the offending food was no longer keeping them prisoner and they all leapt to their feet.

It was time to take this monster down.

* * *

“No, I’m serious. If he gets his own fucking poodle for a zord, I think it’s only fair we each get a zord we actually want. Don’t you want a hamster zord?”

“I’m not gonna lie, that would probably be the coolest thing ever!”

“After my tiger zord.”

“Yeah yeah, and could you just imagi—“

Yuri and Phichit’s voices faded as they continued on to their corresponding rooms, leaving the base semi-empty. Yuuri always stayed behind to write up reports to their missions, after having do them for so long. JJ didn’t seem to mind that Yuuri designated himself to the job.

On the other side of the room, Victor kept to himself, his phone in his hand as he scrolled through what seemed like social media.

Yuuri himself had an Instagram and Twitter but never actually used his accounts. But the organization they worked for recommended the team stay active on social media, let the world know they were trying their best. Not that it really mattered. Similar to how they were normally, he knew Phichit was always out there ensuring that he kept Yuuri in his pictures.

Feeling a yawn coming on, Yuuri covered his mouth, the report suddenly the last thing on his mind. But he knew it had to be completed before he left the base and he also knew that no one else was going to do it.

He breezed through the rest of the report in record time, filing it away through the proper channels so it would get clearance. With that, he stood to his feet, raising his hands above his head in a stretch. He felt a crack release in his back and he sighed at the relief.

It was one second before he realized Victor’s eyes were on him, gaze intense from the other side of the room. He lowered his arms, wringing his hands together as he dipped his head. “Oh, sorry.”

“No!” Yuuri’s head shot up, his eyes wide at the shout. Victor sighed, using his long fingers to brush back his bangs. “I mean…” He paused, averting his eyes and sighing, “Earlier…” He looked back in Yuuri’s direction, “When we were fighting that monster, that bowl you guys were stuck in? That was katsudon, right?”

Yuuri only nodded, and Victor did one in response, “Y-yeah…”

“I’ve just always wondered, Yuri calls you that all the time and Phichit jokes about how it’s your favorite food. It…” Victor gave a small smile, but it somehow didn’t feel authentic, “It looked really good. I just wanted to let you know that, Yuuri.”

“O-okay…” Yuuri watched as Victor made his way across the room, setting a hand on his shoulder. The older than gave his shoulder a small squeeze before turning away.

“Good night, Yuuri.”

* * *

15.

Phichit was acting weird.

Not like normal-weird. More like trying-and-failing-to-keep-a-secret-weird. Yuuri wasn’t the only person to notice.

Chris pulled him aside one afternoon, making sure they were all alone in the hall.

“Hey, have you seen Phichit? He was supposed to report to training over an hour ago and no one else has seen him.”

“Huh,” Yuuri frowned, “You know, I haven’t. You said you checked his room?”

Chris nodded and crossed his arms as he leaned against the wall, “And here’s the kicker: His hamsters aren’t in their cage.”

Feeling his frown deepen, Yuuri let his mind wander. Phichit normally would keep his hamsters in his room, though sometimes he would naturally take them out to roam his room. He claimed they needed the exercise. As if the giant wheel in their cage wasn’t enough! But even then, he would occasionally take the hamsters in his hands and parade them around the base. The rest of the rangers were used to some of the other pets that lived there. Yuri let his cat, Potya, free within the base, which was mostly the reason Phichit always carried his hamsters when he ventured out of his room.

You never knew when Puma Tiger Scorpion was going to strike.

And usually the only other pet that wandered around the base unattended was Makkachin.

Yuuri still remembered the first time he saw the poodle, all those months ago.

He finally returned to the base, after what felt like ages after the last Grand Prix Final, after the death of his beloved Vicchan. He went to his room first, to put his bags away so they wouldn’t be in the way. His room was left the same way it was before he left, and he was heading towards the main room when he found himself with his back to the floor and a large overly affectionate poodle licking his face.

“H-hey! Stop that! Haha that tickles!”

Trying to stop the onslaught of doggy kisses, he didn’t see his best friend coming down the hall.

“Woah there, Makkachin! Give Yuuri some space!”

The doggy kisses vanished, followed by a low whine. Yuuri sat up, wiping his face of saliva and taking Phichit’s hand so he could stand. “Thanks Phichit.”

“No problem. Usually Makkachin is more well behaved.”

Yuuri dusted off his pant legs, staring at the dog. She looked awfully familiar and the name definitely rang a bell…

He abruptly straightened his spine, his eyes wide as he looked at Phichit.

Phichit only smiled, “Everyone is waiting for you in the main room. You go on ahead, I’m gonna get Makkachin back to her owner’s room.”

Yuuri never ran fast enough.

* * *

He never really considered himself as someone who was good at consoling others. That was more Phichit’s thing. Back in Detroit, and even when they first started out as Rangers, Phichit was a lifeline that helped Yuuri fight his inner demons.

He would do anything to help his friend.

He would kill a man. (Okay, not really.)

So when the Rangers discovered Phichit befriended a sentient robot who had a fondness for hamsters, naturally they were suspicious. But he insisted Arthur was a friend. Proclaimed it to the rooftops.

“Yuuri, you know anyone who loves hamsters can’t be evil! It’s unnatural! It would be like saying you’re not in love with Victor Nikiforov!”

“Phichit!”

Only now the monster of the week had tried to use Arthur against the Rangers, tried to reformat his programming and in order to save Phichit, to save his friends, Arthur gave the ultimate sacrifice. Himself.

Yuuri stood awkwardly to the side with the rest of his team, wishing there was something he could do for his best friend. Later, when they returned to base, Phichit would retire to his room and stay there until bouncing back to full smiles the next day. But Yuuri knew he would still be hurting.

As they watched their friend and fellow teammate cry against the cooling metal, not even Yuri found it in himself to say anything.

Phichit rubbed his nose, sniffling as the tears continued to cascade down his cheeks, “My friend, rest in passion.”

* * *

23.

The air within the base was stifling. JJ was hunched over, his arms wrapped around his knees as his head was buried towards his body, and it was just quiet enough that they could hear him muttering a tune.

“I can change the world, JJ just follow me this is who I am now l-look at m-me…”

Chris and Phichit shared a worried look. It wasn’t normal for JJ to get the lyrics to his song wrong, he wrote it himself and proudly proclaimed it as his character song. That as Red Ranger, it was a requirement.

Yuuri bit his lower lip, the effects of the monster not affecting him as badly as his other teammates. Never did he think he would be grateful for his anxiety. He was used to hearing his own thoughts against himself, so it was easy to see when it was someone else doing the talking.

He chanced a glance to his left, where Victor was standing. The older man elected to remain standing, as was Yuuri, but he refused to leave his side. In fact, ever since the monster was defeated and they returned to base, Victor remained close by.

“Okay so explain this. Why is it JJ and Victor got affected but Katsudon is fine?” Yuri frowned from where he sat on his personal couch. He tried to make it seem like he wasn’t trying to be comforting, but allowed their resident red to sit on the other side of his couch.

“Aw well,” Celestino rubbed the back of his neck, looking at Yuuri for his explanation.

Yuuri sighed, rubbing a hand across his face. Really, this isn’t how he wanted his anxiety to be revealed. He never really wanted to tell anyone about it. Phichit, Chris, and Celestino all knew about it because they had worked together for so long.

“It’s… a lot easier to break a spell if you’re used to the things the spell is telling you.” He looked at the floor, feeling the judging gazes of his teammates. This was why he didn’t want to say anything. But he was the only who managed to snap JJ and Victor out of their own spells while the rest of his team was off fighting the giant monster.

He clenched his hands into fists, but refused to move his arms so he could fold them across his chest. The last thing he wanted everyone to know was how much he wished to close himself off from the others.

He jolted out of his thoughts when warm fingers covered his fist, shocking him to release the tension in his hands.

Victor had drew closer, his hand wrapped around Yuuri’s own. He gave Yuuri’s hand a small squeeze, as if offering support.

With a glance around the rest of the room, it appeared that his teammates didn’t notice they were currently holding hands. Yuri was telling JJ to get over it, or take his crying elsewhere. Chris and Phichit were near the computer, discussing who knows what.

Knowing that their attention was diverted elsewhere, Yuuri easily returned the gesture, giving Victor’s hand a small squeeze.

The smile he received was one he knew he would always cherish.

* * *

This was his punishment.

After the Rangers were told to retire for the night, the whole ordeal heavy on all their hearts, they split up towards their own rooms. At this point, Chris and Phichit had shared knowing looks at Yuuri when they noticed whose hand he was holding.

As everyone ventured off to their own rooms, Yuuri found Victor and himself alone in the hallway. The older man refused to relinquish his hold on Yuuri’s hand, in fact only holding it tighter in his grip. Makkachin had trotted over beside them, lolling her tongue out as she tilted her head.

“Um,” Yuuri let his free hand fall onto Makkachin’s head, his fingers twisting in her curls as he tried to find his voice, “will you be alright? Tonight, I mean?” He found himself watching his fingers disappear amongst Makkachin’s curls, “If you want, Makkachin can stay with you tonight?”

He didn’t know when it started, but sometime after Victor had joined and Yuuri returned, the poodle refused to sleep in anyone else’s bed but Yuuri’s. Victor shrugged it off, glad that Makkachin was so fond of Yuuri, saying he didn’t mind it in the slightest.

Only now, with how the last battle had ended, Yuuri wasn’t so sure if it was right, to have Victor’s dog in his bed when he was acting the way he was.

He glanced up, the silence deafening in the hallway. Victor was staring at him, lips pursed together in a line as if he was thinking hard. He opened his mouth only to shut it and open it a few times before turning his eyes away.

“Victor?”

Victor’s hand squeezed his own, the words finally spilling out.

“No, don’t, I mean—I wouldn’t want—Makkachin obviously adores you—but um…” He sighed, running his free hands through his bangs. Yuuri knew by now this was clearly a nervous tic of Victor’s and he wondered if anything was wrong. Victor sighed, his free hand falling limp at this side, “Yuuri—would it be alright if we slept in the same bed?”

Yuuri’s eyes widened, releasing Victor’s hand in shock. This wasn’t the first time Victor had requested sleeping in Yuuri’s bed. Sometimes he joked that about how Makkachin used to be his bed companion and wondered out loud around the rest of the rangers how Yuuri compared to the poodle, other times it was just between the two of them, Victor’s eyes wide and round and glistening in the overhead lights. Yuuri had fervently denied each time. Had even taken down his posters the first night he was back. He would die of embarrassment if Victor ever knew he had posters of him. But now… with the way Victor was acting…

Something passed quickly in Victor’s blue eyes, and he took a step back, not trying to reclaim Yuuri’s hand.

“Nevermind, sorry Yuuri. I’ll just…” He turned, already starting to move towards his own room when Yuuri felt himself move forward, his hand taking Victor’s.

“No, wait!”

Victor froze, his hand limp in Yuuri’s.

He didn’t really have a plan, this was totally crazy, but at this point his entire life was crazy. He was a Power Ranger, piloted a dragon robot, his best friend cried over a dead robot, he held hands with his idol for hours, said idol wanted to share his bed with him.

Yuuri never considered himself very good with words, so he acted instead. Giving Victor’s hand a small squeeze, he released it, moving closer and wrapping his arms around Victor’s torso. The older man stiffened in his grasp but Yuuri refused to let go.

“I don’t mind,” he let the words out in a near whisper, and judging by the stutter he felt in Victor’s heartbeat, the other man heard him. “Stay with me tonight.”

He again felt the gulp rather than heard it as Victor slowly nodded, “Okay.”

Not waiting a second long, Yuuri released Victor, moving towards his bedroom door and ushering the man and dog into his room. He closed the door behind them, making sure it was locked and then turning back to his visitors.

“I have some old sweatpants, they might fit you, if that’s okay.”

Victor only nodded, looking strangely small in the middle of the room. Still he accepted the faded pair of pants and Yuuri turned around, letting the other man have some privacy. He heard rustling of clothes being taken off and put on and he did the same, a pair of sweatpants and an old college shirt.

He turned back around, for some reason still expecting Victor to be standing in the middle of the room but he had already relocated to the bed, Makkachin taking up the space by the wall and leaving a small section open near the edge of the bed.

Yuuri gulped, making his way over, plugging his phone into his charger and slipping his glasses off as he turned off the light and slid into bed. Already he could feel the heat from Victor, and he scooted closer to the edge of the bed. Closing his eyes, he pulled the covers up to his shoulders, turning to give Victor one last look.

But the words died in his throat when he noticed Victor was already looking his way.

“Yuuri?”

Victor’s voice was quiet in the dark, and Yuuri couldn’t almost claim he didn’t hear it except he saw his lips move. Saw them form his name.

“Yeah?”

Victor shifted, bringing one hand up and laid it awkwardly on Yuuri’s shoulder. “Thank you.”

A lump formed in his throat, making it difficult to swallow the emotions that overflowed. “Your welcome.”

Victor didn’t remove his hand, and Yuuri didn’t say anything as he moved around, releasing one arm from its home under the covers, resting it on his stomach.

“Goodnight, Victor.”

“…Goodnight, Yuuri.”

* * *

Yuuri was dreaming. He could see himself in bed with Victor, and even though he was deep in the midst of REM sleep, he could tell Victor was wide awake. Staring at him.

There was a soft pressure on his cheek, it felt as if someone’s long fingers were caressing his face.

“Please, stay close to me.”

The words were hushed, as if they weren’t just spoken. Yuuri tried to make sense of them when he felt something press against his forehead. Whatever it was, it was shaking.

Yuuri didn’t have time to wonder when the darkness took over.

* * *

An alarm was blaring. Yuuri grumbled, burying his face into something warm and soft as he reached up and turned off his phone. He was tired and his bed was surprisingly comfy. He brought his arm back down, resting it against something firm. Something that was breathing. Something that wasn’t Makkachin.

His eyes shot open.

Victor lay facing the wall, Makkachin having relocated herself during the night so she was at the foot of the bed. His hair fanned itself out on the pillow, giving his head a halo. His eyelashes fluttered against his cheeks, his mouth partly open and there was a slight line of drool falling down to his chin.

He had Victor’s saliva on his pillow. Holy shit.

And there, wrapped around Victor’s waist, was Yuuri’s arm.

Holy shit.

Sometime during the night, he must have moved around in his sleep and started… cuddling with Victor. Oh God.

He slowly lifted his arm, trying not to wake the other man, maybe he could get out of bed and start getting ready for the day. Make this not even more awkward than it always was. Things weren’t not in his favor that morning, however, for as soon as he started to lift his arm, Victor let out a small groan, shifting around so that he was now facing Yuuri.

He slowly opened his eyes, and a small, hesitant smile found its way on his face, “Good morning, Yuuri.” He gave a little sigh, shuffling so he could bury his face into Yuuri’s chest.

Yuuri gave a small squeak, but Victor paid it no mind.

“Could we stay like this for a while?”

“Um,” Yuuri looked around the room, spotting the time. He would usually wake up this early and go about his morning run, but after the previous day, he doubt the others were even awake, probably everyone else was sleeping in. A little while wouldn’t hurt. Celestino would understand. “Sure, yeah.” He wrapped his arms as well as he could around Victor, letting his nose rest against Victor’s silver hair.

They woke up three hours later to Makkachin pawing at the door, wanting to be let out.

* * *

24.

The day after they shared the same bed, Yuuri refuses to use the term slept together, the connotations making him feel lightheaded and he’d rather avoid that thank you, things appeared to change. Victor felt more real as opposed to when he was trying really hard to be extra. He still sat next to Yuuri at meetings or when they were hanging out during their down time. Sometimes when Yuuri ventured to the nearest rink, Victor would tag along, helping him with his jumps and giving praises when he completed a program

As much as he was surprised, Yuuri found he was enjoying Victor’s company. It got to the point where if Yuuri was nearby, you knew Victor was too.

They had just returned from the training room, playful banter on their lips that dropped when they noticed a young women sitting on Yuri’s tacky cheetah print couch.

Yuri was in the far corner, arms crossed, scowl marring his young face.

Beside the woman was JJ, his arm around her shoulder. They looked sickeningly in love.

“Oh Yuuri! Victor! I want you to meet the love of my life, Isabella!”

* * *

Okay, to be fair, Isabella really was JJ’s girlfriend. But how were they supposed to know the villains had stolen her away, brainwashed her and had her sneak into the base to steal their megazord plans?

It had only made the mess of the previous battle sting even more. Apparently, one of the nightmares JJ had seen involved Isabella leaving him, of her being evil, her deciding she was better off with someone else.

Once they managed to undo the brainwashing, however, Isabella immediately went back to JJ. Never had they seen someone so in love before.

“I don’t know, Yuuri, you and Victor kinda give those two a run for their money.”

“Phichit!”

But no matter how in love JJ and Isabella were, the fact of the matter was that the villains had yet to be defeated and it would be better if Isabella was sent back home. Now that she knew what to look out for, she wouldn’t be susceptible to any more brainwashing techniques.

It was the day she planned to leave, her bags already packed, and the team gathered in the control room to send her off when JJ swept into the room, a bouquet of roses in one hand as he lowered himself to one knee.

Isabella’s scream almost shattered Yuuri’s glasses.

* * *

25.

It was like the villains had a spy in their ranks.

JJ gets attacked by a monster that makes him think his girlfriend is going to leave him, said girlfriend shows up and turns out to be brainwashed, after she’s freed from the villains’ mind control, JJ proposes to her.

And now brides are being stolen.

“We’re not using Isabella as bait!”

“No one is saying that…”

“This must be because of our love!”

“JJ, I don’t think…”

“Ugh, just shut the fuck up already, jeez.”

“Yuri, please you’re not helping…”

“I know what we can do!”

Phichit’s yell breaks the heavy atmosphere, and he grins as he slings an arm over Yuuri’s shoulder.

Yuuri gives his friend an exasperated look, “Oh yeah? Like that? We get married and one of us plays the bride?”

“Yup!”

Something toppled over and everyone’s attention turned to Victor, who had fallen backwards to the floor. His eyes were wide and staring directly over at Phichit.

Chris tapped a finger to his chin, “You know,” he smirked, “I like this plan. Who would be the lovely bride?” He slid over to Yuuri’s other side, his one hand caressing Yuuri’s behind. Yuuri let out a small squeak. “I’ve always thought you’d look lovely in white.”

Victor, who had gotten to his feet and had reset the chair, whipped his head in their direction again, his cheeks red.

There was a smack, and Chris removed his hand, pouting as he rubbed his red hand. Phichit let himself smile bright, “No way, I’m going to be the bride!”

At the exclamation, the room erupted in noise once again.

“Phichit, this will never work!”

“Sure it will!”

“This is too good! Yes! Let these two get married I need pictures!”

“Awww… I really do think Yuuri would make a beautiful bride…”

Amongst all the chattering, Yuuri dropped his head, letting his teammates converse over him. He slowly glanced over, wondering if just for a moment, what Victor thought of this plan.

Even though everyone else was talking over each other, or well in Yuri’s case he was doubled over laughing, Victor was turned away, a frown settled on his face. It was weird, unnatural. Victor should always be smiling but here he just looked… unhappy.

He was jolted out of his musings when Celestino clapped his hands.

“Alright, alright! Another bride was just taken, we don’t have time to argue any more about this. Yuuri, do you have a problem with this plan?”

Yuuri looked up, feeling everyone’s eyes on him. Out of everyone, he could feel the heat of Victor’s gaze the most.

Slowly, he gave a hesitant shake of his head.

From the corner of his eye, he saw Victor’s shoulder fall.

* * *

“Yuuri! What do you think?”

Phichit sashayed around the dressing room, the trail of his gown showing exactly where he’d been. Yuuri simply sighed, a smile on his face as he straightened his tie, “Beautiful, Phichit. The groom is a lucky guy.” He reached forward, grabbing the wig off the chair and placing it on his best friend’s head, “Now fix your hair, the ceremony is soon.”

He received a tongue in response, but Phichit did as he was told, taking a brush and smoothing out the knots.

The door to the dressing room opened and Yuri entered, his tiger print tux was hard on the eyes.

“Hey, we’re ready for you two nerds.”

Yuuri ran his hands down his suit, giving himself one last look over before resting a hand on Phichit’s shoulder, “See you out there.”

“Same to you, lover.”

They shared a laugh while Yuri only groaned, “Hurry the fuck up, Katsudon, we don’t have all day.”

They made their way down the hall, the only thing that could be heard was the clicking of their shoes.

“Ugh, the sooner this stupid plan is over, the better. I can’t stand this anymore.”

“What? Weddings too sentimental for you?”

“No, so Victor can shut the fuck up already. He’s been whining about this since Phichit came up with the stupid idea.”

Yuuri paused, “What?”

Instead of a response, Yuri raised his hands, mimicking air quotations, “‘Why is he marrying Phichit?’ And even before this, ‘Yuri, why is he ignoring me?’ ‘I don’t understand why he isn’t sweeping me off my feet! He did before!’ He’s such a fucking loser.”

Something akin to dread started to pool in his stomach, “Who?”

“Victor, of course! He wouldn’t shut up about you since the last Grand Prix Final, and when you fell off the face of the earth, oh shit he was insufferable! The only clue you gave him was that you were Blue Skater and when he heard I was drafted into the team, he pulled every string he could so he could join. And then you weren’t even there! Did you know? They originally were going to have someone else be Gold Skater. But I think they’re going to have him be Silver instead.” Yuri took a moment to glance around the hall, in case someone was listening in, “Don’t tell anyone but I was messing around on the computers and there are plans for a Silver Ranger.”

Yuuri only nodded, the surplus of information making his head spin. He told Victor he was Blue Skater at the last Grand Prix Final? They actually spoke then? It must have been at the banquet. But Yuuri only remembered meeting Yuri, sipping some champagne, and then he went back to his room. …Didn’t he?

He couldn’t venture further into these thoughts. The two had reached the main room, most of their teammates sitting dispersed, half to the bride’s side and the other to the groom’s side.

Victor had decided to stay behind. Someone had to stay at the base, just in case, he said.

Celestino met them at the door, and he gave Yuuri a hug as Yuri took a seat at the bride’s side. JJ and Chris waved from their seats on the groom’s side as Yuuri made his way to the priest.

How they managed to get Yakov Feltsman to be the priest, Yuuri will never know.

The earpiece hidden in his ear crackled to life, and Victor’s voice was suddenly all he could hear, in his mind’s eye he saw Victor’s face as his words washed over him.

“Congratulations on your marriage. You look beautiful.”

Yuuri had no chance to respond, his cheeks dusting in pink just as the doors to the church opened, and Phichit made his way down the aisle.

* * *

Villains really were stupid, Yuuri thought as he took down another foot soldier. Phichit pressed their backs together and he tossed a grin over his shoulder, “All this and we never got to say our vows!”

Yuuri let out a small laugh, “Next time, then!”

One of the mooks raised their weapon, aiming straight for Yuuri when a sword came down, slicing it in half. In the midst of the fight, Victor stood. He raced towards the pair, only coming to a stop before adding to their position.

Phichit gave Victor an elbow to the side, “Nice to see you join us, Nikiforov! Yuuri was just saying how he missed you!”

“Phichit!”

Victor gave a bright smile, eyes not leaving Yuuri’s face as he punched a monster in the face. “Well that’s good, I missed you too.”

“Victor!” Yuuri’s face burned red and he quickly shot a foot soldier in the chest, “Fight first, talk later!”

The last thing he heard as they ran in separate directions into battle was Victor’s laughter.

* * *

32.

The Grand Prix Megazord was getting pounded. Nothing they did seemed to help and not even Gold Skater’s Poodle Zord could make a dent in the Zamboni monster.

All hope seemed lost, Yuuri didn’t know what else they could do in this situation when the roar of an engine cut through the destruction.

A silver motorbike flew out from beneath a nearby building, transforming into a humanoid robot. It got guns at the monster, focusing attention on itself.

“I will distract it. Attack it once I have it away from civilians.”

It was a familiar voice, but Yuuri couldn’t place it. Instead of questioning the new person, he gave a short nod, even though he was sure they couldn’t see him.

“Hold the phone! How come this guy gets a fucking motorbike that transforms and all I get is a fucking dump truck?”

“Yuri, not now.”

“Yuri, yes now!”

There was a grunt over the speakers, “Will you go through with my plan or not?”

Yuri grumbled from his cockpit, eventually giving an agreeable groan, “Fine. Just get it over it.”

* * *

His name was Otabek Altin. Originally planned to be Gold Skater but, due to unforeseeable circumstances, had to be placed as Silver Skater. The man had no anger for the reassignment, simply nodded when he was told what color he was.

JJ immediately went to his side, throwing an arm around Otabek’s shoulder, “Otabek! Nice to see you again, old friend! Glad you joined the team!”

He received no response, only a shrug that displaced his arm. Otabek gave the room a onceover, before moving the side and took a seat on Yuri’s hideous couch.

There was a beat as everyone glanced over at their resident angry teenager. Yuri only crossed his arm, assessing eyes roaming over Otabek before he made his way to his couch and took the seat beside the other man.

Yuuri let out a breath he didn’t realize he was holding. The tension in the room seemed to dissipate. Everything was going to be fine, new ranger and all.

* * *

37.

Sometimes Yuuri looked back at his life and found that things he thought were bad, really weren’t, not in the long run. So when he first returned to the base, all those months ago, he wasn’t really in hell. Not really.

No. Being stuck in Victor Nikiforov’s was hell. And so was having Yuri Plisetsky stuck in his body.

It was weird seeing himself scowling so much, arms crossed as his body was sitting on that monstrous couch in the corner. And he was wearing leopard print.

Yuuri pushed the bangs in front of his left eye up, only to have them fall again. As much as he liked the hairstyle on Victor, it wasn’t doing wonders for Yuuri himself.

It was also difficult to remember just who was in whose body. JJ was watching Yuuri’s body with sad eyes but that was insane because half the time JJ could barely look at Yuu—Oh wait now he remembered, that was Victor.

Oh. Well that made even less sense.

JJ’s body seemed to come to the same conclusion because those eyes turned instead to look in his direction and how weird was it for Victor to see his body and it wasn’t himself in it???

Yuuri closed his eyes, instead trying to not think of JJ looking at Victor like… like he didn’t even know. He focused his attention on the rest of his team, tried to figure out who was who.

Well Chris… Chris was slumped over with his hands in his hair. He looked in shock. That could be anyone.

Yuri was in the corner, his arms crossed and he looked the same? Which was impossible because Yuuri was pretty sure Yuri was stuck in his body, if the cursing was anything to go by. So maybe that was Otabek. He normally didn’t say much to begin with. Okay.

The more Yuuri stared at his team the more he was getting a headache over everything.

From his left, Otabek’s voice broke through the confusion, “We should totally have nametags. I think I might have some in my room. Hold on!”

Otabek’s body bounced out of the room and a lightbulb went off in Yuuri’s head. Oh. That was Phichit.

* * *

“Oh my body! How I’ve missed you!”

“Ew, Chris, do that in your own room.”

Yuuri hugged his own torso, glad to be in his body again, though it did feel a little weird after having Yuri in it. A shiver ran up his spine, and he whipped around, finding Victor’s eyes on him. The intense blue orbs rooting him to the spot.

Was Victor also thinking the same? Did he consider Yuuri a pervert now, after having his mind in Victor’s body? It wasn’t like Yuuri did anything, when the body swap happened. They were only forced to trade bodies for that one day, and one day was enough.

What if… What if Victor noticed every time Yuuri had passed a mirror he would sometimes stop and stare until he heard someone pass by? It was different. Having Victor staring back through the mirror instead of from his many posters. Posters he still had hidden under his bed.

If Victor had noticed, he would definitely think Yuuri was a pervert. He didn’t need that, they already had Chris on the team and he was about as perverse as they came.

He turned away, Victor’s eyes still burning holes into him but he couldn’t look any more. He hoped this would never be mentioned again. Yuri already looked like he was over the whole debacle. He even thanks Otabek for taking care of his body when everything was over.

When Yuuri went to talk to him, Yuri had only spat to the side, saying he would have to shower twice in order to get the nerdiness of Yuuri out of him.

Suddenly all Yuuri wanted to do was go back to his room, to lay in his bed and maybe take a year long nap so he wouldn’t have to think anymore. Yeah, that was a plan.

“Yuuri.”

He straightened, finding Victor smiling at him. Oh God, now what? “Yeah?”

Victor reached forward, letting his fingers ghost over Yuuri’s before dropping his hand to his side. “I wanted to thank you, for taking the brunt of that attack for me.”

Oh. “Oh.”

Right, they had to go out to battle while still body swapped and even though he wasn’t used to Victor’s weapons and height and had difficulty the first couple of foot soldiers, he had let instinct take over and jumped in front of JJ’s body before he got hit by the monster.

He felt himself shrug, his shoulders rising and falling as he returned the smile. “Of course, you’d do the same for me, right?”

Victor’s eyes widened, and he reached forward once again, this time making actual contact as he entwined their fingers.

“Yes.”

* * *

41.

“Victor, for the love of ice skating, stop moving. You’ll hurt yourself again.”

“I will no—“

Chris looked smug as Victor slipped on a banana peel that literally appeared from nowhere.

“I rest my case.”

“Okay, okay…” Victor remained sitting on the floor, glaring at the offensive banana peel.

To his right, Phichit didn’t even try to cover up his snicker. “I still can’t believe you managed to piss off someone so much they gave you bad luck.”

“Okay,” He held up his hands, “But to be fai—“

Something flew through the air, hitting Victor square on the nose.

The entire room stared as Victor slowly reached down to pick up the small coin. Equally slowly, he turned to the direction of the only couch in the room, the most frigid smile on his face.

“Yuri…”

“It wasn’t me.”

* * *

“Oh, you just look so precious!”

“You look like a total idiot!”

Victor let himself groan, things were not looking up. And the day had started off so well! He and Yuuri went out to the local rink, intent on working on Yuuri’s programs. Yuuri, when he was most comfortable, was super laidback and had so many ideas, had willingly listened to Victor’s own suggestions. Victor was sure, with the right coaching, because he was adamant that Yuuri possessed the skills already, that he could easily take the next gold.

Yuuri Katsuki was amazing and it warmed Victor’s heart to see him shine on the ice.

It happened on the way back to base. A hooded figure was set up just outside the rink, hadn’t been there when they arrived that morning, and had claimed they would predict the future.

Yuuri had walked on, but Victor was never one to pass up something exciting like fortune telling.

He insisted Yuuri double back around, that this could be fun, why not Yuuri, didn’t he want to see how many dogs they might have in the future? Okay, that last part was in his head. He wanted so much to own a two story house with five dogs alongside his future husband Yuuri Katsuki. But that was just a pipedream for now.

Yuuri gave him a pat, but still stood off to the side as Victor got his palm read.

“You… I see gold in your future…”

The light in Victor’s eyes dimmed, his apparent excitement for the moment gone, and his smile frozen as he took back his hand, “I’ve seen enough gold to last a lifetime. Come on, Yuuri, let’s go back.”

He didn’t wait for Yuuri’s response, reaching over to wrap an arm around his shoulder and began their trek back to base. He saw Yuuri glance behind them but he stubbornly remained looking forward.

“You fool…” He heard a hiss, before spying wisps of smoke on the ground, twisting around his ankles until they began to swirl up his legs. “You dare mock my power. You, and all you hold dear, will suffer until the end of time!”

With wide eyes, Victor shoved Yuuri away, as the smoke covered his entire being and he choked as it filled his nostrils, his mouth. He ended up shutting his eyes against the burn, tears falling down his cheeks.

As soon as it happened, however, the smoke vanished, and he felt Yuuri shaking his shoulders, shouting his name.

“Victor! Victor, are you okay! Say something!”

“Y-Yuuri…” Something tickled his throat, and Victor coughed, his hand covering his mouth as he hunched over. Yuuri calmly patted his back, a repeated soothing motion that helped a little bit. “I’m… I’m okay.” He glanced down, taking inventory of himself before looking back at his companion. “I feel okay? I don’t think she really did anything?”

Yuuri pursed his lips together, and Victor suddenly had the desperate need to kiss those lips, “Still, let’s get you back to base. Just to make sure.”

Victor only nodded, unsure if he was alright to speak just then. They hadn’t really spoken, really spoken, about what they had discussed at the last Grand Prix Final. Sure, they spoke, but it was all in metaphors and hidden meanings and usually referenced ice skating or katsudon, but never them. What they were. What they were going to be. Their future.

Sometimes, when Victor sensed Yuuri looking at him, he felt the urge to bring up that night again. But as soon as the thought crossed his mind, Yuuri would turn away, almost as if he was ashamed. And so, Victor waited. When Yuuri was ready, Victor would be there waiting for him. He always would be.

Yuuri took hold of Victor’s arm, helping the other man to his feet. Victor assumed as soon as he was standing, Yuuri would let go, but he didn’t. Instead Yuuri wrapped an arm around his torso, as if to support him back to the base.

It felt as if his heart was beating a mile a minute, and surely, surely Yuuri could tell? Didn’t he hear how frantic Victor’s heartbeat was? How his nose burned red and Victor was pretty sure his ears were red too? Was Yuuri aware of just how he affected Victor?

They had only taken two steps forward when a skateboard flew in their path, Victor not seeing it until too late and he went crashing down, pulling Yuuri along with him.

And so. The bad luck started.

By the time they returned to the base, Victor was black, blue, and bruised from every stray ball that hit him and every fall where he tumbled to the ground, he even ended up with a bucket on his head, drenching the top of his body.

In other to combat the bad luck, Celestino had devised an idea to counteract the luck with items that the rest of the team considered, or associated with, good luck.

And so, Victor stood in the middle of the control room wearing what was possibly the most ridiculous outfit he could have ever dreamed of.

Yuri’s tiger hoodie he saw for sale when he was out hiding from Yakov, Phichit’s hamster beanie he got while at Disneyland, Otabek’s gloves that he swore saved him when he crashed that one time, JJ’s personal microphone that he said he used when he first debut his theme song, and Chris’ favorite hot pink boa.

Now, the boa he could live with. Because even though it was the most hideous outfit he had ever worn, and he was Victor Nikiforov, the one thing that made everything bearable was the fact that he was wearing Yuuri Katsuki’s JSF official jacket. Even though the sleeves were too short and his wrists were poking out, and the bottom of the jacket barely reached his hips, just wearing the one thing from his love made Victor float on cloud nine.

A pity though, because his teammates had a rather different reaction to his new look.

“Wow Victor, you look um…”

“Like someone just threw up all over you.”

“Yuri!”

“Well it’s true!”

Victor felt his eye twitch but he tried not to let Yuri’s words get to him. Instead he turned to his favorite person in the whole world.

“No,” Yuuri tilted his head, a smile gracing his face, “I have to agree with Yuri, Chris. It looks like someone threw up on him.”

“Yuuri!”

* * *

Victor sagged in his chair, arms held out in front of him as he leaned onto the table. “I think I used up enough bad luck for my entire life.” He glanced to his side, eyes hopeful, “This means I’ll have good luck from now on, right?”

There was a hum, before the person sat down next to him, “It’s possible, but you should never rule out the likeliness of bad luck happening again. Here, I got your drink for you.”

Victor let himself pout as he straightened up, accepting his drink but electing not to sip from it yet. “If I do, do you think I could have a bit of yours?”

A smile slowly formed on Yuuri’s face as he leaned forward to take a sip from his own drink. He appeared to ponder while he savored his smoothie before nodding. “Yes, this was definitely the smoothie I wanted, you were right to get the other one.”

“Yuuri!”

* * *

45.

“Okay seriously I think the villains have something against us.”

“What was your first clue?”

Yuuri sighed from his location on the cheetah print couch, suddenly very happy that he went home for those three months.

When he went back home, he was finally able to reconnect with not only his family, but also his friends and that included pretty much Yuuko and Nishigori. Who had married. And were now parents to rambunctious triplets. They had insisted Yuuri meet their girls, that he should babysit them one night and Yuuri feared he lost a year of his life.

But it was because of that he was able to look back at that night and think, ‘actually, watching the triplets wasn’t that bad.’

Mostly because as of right then, he had a trio of three year olds in his lap.

Not just any three year olds.

No, because for some asinine reason, the villains had a beam that reduced grown men to toddlers and three members of his team had fallen victim to it.

Phichit was nestled in Yuuri’s right side, sticking his tongue out at the other two while humming the Hamtaro theme song.

Victor was on Yuuri’s left, tugging on Yuuri’s arm so he could braid Victor’s silver locks.

And finally, directly on Yuuri’s lap was Yuri, who refused to move since he claimed the spot once they arrived back at base.

It was almost as if Yuuri’s body was a playground and he was at the mercy of three year olds.

Oh wait.

He spared a glance over at his other teammates, but Chris and JJ were huddled in the other corner of the room, harsh whispers that Yuuri could barely make out. He exhaled another sigh, letting his head droop to the left and rest it on top of Victor’s smaller head. The child ceased his whining, instead leaned closer, nuzzling his face into Yuuri’s side.

Well, as long as he could get one of them quiet…

From his other side, Phichit only hummed the Hamtaro song louder.

* * *

“Phichit, I love you like a brother, but if you ever have kids, you are forbidden to let them watch Hamtaro.”

“Oh come on, Yuuri!”

* * *

Final

They did it. They won.

After nearly six years, five really of planning and getting the team put together and a whole year of actually fighting, they had defeated the bad guys, their mission was over and they could go back to their lives again.

Yuuri eased back onto Yuri’s horrendously tacky couch and let himself bask in the feeling. So caught up was he that he failed to hear the hiss of the door as it opened and someone walked in, making their way over to him and taking a seat next to him.

There was a chuckle to his side and Yuuri popped open an eye, a smiling easing onto his face, “Enjoying yourself?”

Yuuri nodded, sitting up and turning so he was facing his companion. “I worked hard to get to where I am today. Now that there’s no more threat, we can go back to the ice. I can compete again.”

The joy in his companion slowly faded and it was then that Yuuri realized his mistake.

“Oh, Oh Victor I didn’t mean…”

The living legend shook his head, “No, Yuuri, I know.” He gave a small smile, one that didn’t reach his eyes, “Now that we’re done here, I’ll have to find something else to do… It’s not like I can go back to the ice…”

That was right, Victor had retired shortly before becoming a ranger. And now that they had defeated the evil that threatened the world, now that they were breaking up as a team, Victor didn’t have anywhere else to go…

He swallowed, reaching forward but hesitating all the same. Victor caught on, bringing his own hand up and grasping Yuuri’s in his own.

There was a pause, electricity charging between the two of them as Victor gave a shuddering breath.

“You know, Yuuri…”

The man in question glanced up, curiosity in his eyes, and it only spurred Victor on.

“Last year, at the Grand Prix Final, you asked something of me…”


End file.
